Unexpected
by Lloryn
Summary: A Marauder's Story Having your life turned upside down is never easy. But what if you suddenly get introduced to something you never knew existed?
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One:**

"Wright!" I sighed as I heard my boss shout from behind me. Turning around I saw him standing in the doorway, fuming. "My office, right now!" With another sigh I dropped the spoon back into the bowl with batter and walked towards the office while wiping my hands on my apron.

As I stepped into the cluttered office I saw Paul Boswell, my boss, sitting in his chair rubbing his temples as he tried very hard to compose his anger, and failed. "Miss Wright, I've been very lenient when I hired you here. I've taken your, situation into consideration and offered you a room to stay in. Your way with the customers and the fact that the food you cook tastes exceptional every time again has contributed to that as well. However, I have been getting strange complaints from customers about them feeling lightheaded after consuming food here. If this was only one or two complaints there would be no problem.. but in the last three weeks I've had twenty-six complaints. Twenty-six! And not just lightheadedness, customers complained about the food hovering above the plates.. HOVERING! Food is NOT supposed to hover! If I had not seen it with my own eyes just now I would not have believed it myself. Pack your things and get out of here."

I stood there staring at the man. _What?_ "Sir? I don't understand?" He looked at me as if I was stupid his face getting hot red out of anger. "You're fired! I don't need your freaky weirdness in my diner. You have an hour you pack your things and get the hell out of here!" I was rooted to the ground staring at him in disbelief. I heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Kitchen tools flying around the kitchen.. insanity.'

I was losing my patience now as well. _Was he mad!?_ He was firing me for no apparent reason! "Why are you blaming me!? I've been working here for months! I did nothing wrong.. Whatever has happened.. I'm sure the customers must have been drunk or something! You can't blame this on me!"

He was standing now, his fist slamming down on his desk. His face was so red I thought it might explode any second now. "GET OUT!" And with that I turned on my heel, ripped the apron off over my head leaving it in the middle of the kitchen. I marched out and up the stairs to the room I had been occupying ever since I came here. As I got to my room I pulled my suitcase out from underneath my bed and started tossing everything I owned in it. I didn't have a lot, but I had enough to live my life. I slammed the suitcase shut and lifted it up storming down the stairs, through the diner and out the door. All the way ignoring the few customers who sat at a few tables and muttering angrily to myself. "Stupid muggle! See how you keep this place running on your own. You couldn't cook if your life depended on it. Bloody wanker!"

After a few minutes I sat down on a rock on the snowy hill I'd walked up in my anger. Even though it was the middle of summer, it was still cold and there was still snow. I had managed to pick one of the coldest places in Scotland. The snow here on Ben Nevis was known to last well into summer and autumn. I reached into my pocket and withdrew my beanie hat and pulled it down upon my head. I drew my scarf closer around my neck and just sat there. This just _had_ to happen to me! Once again I had no place to stay and no way to make money, just great.

I had no idea how long I had sat there in the blistering cold. I had my head in my hands, my elbows were resting on my knees and my suitcase was lying at my feet in the snow. It wasn't until a hand holding a handkerchief appeared in front of me I realized I'd been crying.

My gaze traveling up the arm attached to the hand until my eyes met a pair of wise blue eyes that twinkled at me from behind a pair of half moon spectacles. In front of me stood an old man with a very long white beard. He was sporting a peculiar outfit that consisted of crimson and deep purple colored robes and a woolen hat in matching colors, all in all nothing you saw every day. A picture of Santa Claus in pajama's shot through my mind making me chuckle softly. The man looked at me with kind eyes and nodded towards the handkerchief in his hand. "I thought you could use one." I took the cloth from him with a soft 'thank you' and started drying my face.

"There," said the man as I dried all of my tears and handed the cloth back to him. "What is your name dear?" He asked as he looked down at me. "Cassandra, sir. Cassandra Wright." I looked up at him, curiosity burning inside of me. "Who are you? If you don't mind me asking." This made him chuckle. "Not at all my dear, not at all. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I witnessed your little outburst at the diner down the hill. Interesting choice of words I must say."

I cocked my head slightly to the side observing him. He seemed to be quite comfortable standing here chatting with me in the cold. "Oh, I assume you mean the muggle part?" He nodded so I continued to explain, "That's a word I picked up from my grandfather. He used it to describe people who didn't have the magic." At this I noticed Albus' eyebrows rise up just the slightest bit, seems like I sparked his attention. "The magic?" He inquired with a light chuckle. _Good natured fellow this one._ I thought to myself.

"Yes, the magic of seeing the passion in life. Getting the best out of it, you know living life to the fullest and go with the flow. He was a very good natured man, my grandfather. Never thought bad of anyone or anything unless he was proven otherwise. He said you had to enjoy life and let it run its course in order to see its full potential. Those who couldn't do that he called muggles. I think he liked to make up words like that. Crazy old man he was, but I loved him to pieces. The most amazing things he would get done. He would do things that marveled me and he wouldn't tell me how he did it. He passed away just after Christmas." It made me sad thinking back to the events that happened not too many months ago. "We had spent a quiet Christmas together. It was just him and I. My parents passed away when I was eight years old. They died in a car crash. My grandmother, dad's mother, was devastated. Her poor heart couldn't take the blow; she died a year later of grief. Since then I lived with my grandfather in a little family home in London. It was three days after Christmas Eve. I had gone out to get a few things from the local store. When I came home the door was open.." I looked down at my shoes, collecting myself before continuing, "I found him in the living room, lying in the shards of the smashed coffee table. His were eyes wide open and his face in a shocked expression. Dead. The paramedics couldn't find anything. It was like his heart just stopped beating, just like that without any apparent reason." I shivered thinking back to that moment. Albus laid his hand on my shoulder which was oddly comforting. "I'm sorry for your loss." He said and I nodded.

We were quiet for a while before Albus spoke up again. "What was your grandfather's name?" I looked up, surprised, not expecting that particular question. "Alaric Griffith Wright. Did you know him?" I looked up hopefully. He looked down at me solemnly and nodded. "Yes, I knew Alaric very well. He was a good friend of mine. It pains me to learn of his death. He was a good man and a most talented wizard to boot."

I was in the process of nodding my agreement when his last words dawned on me. I froze, "Did you..did you say 'wizard'?" I looked up at him, his face was unreadable. "I did indeed. Witches and Wizards do exist and magic is as real as the rock you are sitting on. Your grandfather was a wizard, just like your parents and the rest of your family. Alaric Wright was one of the most accomplished Curse Breakers in his day as well as a brilliant Arithmancer. In terms of magic he was a genius. And you my dear have magic flowing in your veins just like everyone else in your family."

This revelation had me stumped for a couple of minutes. I was trying to take it all in and wrap my head around it. _Magic exists, witches and wizards are real. My family were wizards! I am a wizard! Why haven't I know this before?_ I rubbed my temples; I felt a headache coming up. "I am a wizard? Why haven't I been told this before? This is not some kind of joke is it?" Albus threw me a look of understanding. "Well technically you are a witch, because you are female. I assume you were never told because your family wanted to protect you. And I assure you my dear, this is not a joke. Here, let me prove it to you." He reached inside his robes and pulled out a wooden stick, a wand as he explained when he saw the questioning look I cast at the object. He gave the wand a wave and out of nowhere a cup of steaming tea appeared, hovering in front of me. I reached out and took the cup in my hands, welcoming the warmth that spread up through my arms at the touch. I took a sip from the cup to find my favorite strawberry tea in it.

Amazed I looked up at the man, or wizard in front of me. "Amazing, " was all I said. He nodded in agreement. "There is so much I don't know! You have to teach me everything! I want to know everything there is to know about magic." I was almost begging him at this point. He burst out laughing merrily at me. "Would you like to come with me? I will show you around and introduce you to the wizarding world." I nodded eagerly. "I would love to!" I jumped up ready to go, "So where are we going?" Again he patted my shoulder in a fatherly fashion. "I will take you to Leaky Cauldron in London and then we will venture into Diagon Alley. You seemed quite surprised at the existence of magic, there for I assume you don't have a wand?" I shook my head. "No sir, I have nothing remotely magical as far as I know. Matter of fact," I looked down at my suitcase. "This suitcase is all I own. Now that that idiot fired me and kicked me out, I have nowhere to stay and no income either."

Defeated I sunk back onto the cold rock, all my excitement from moments earlier evaporated. "There there, it can't be that bad now can it? It is my assumption that you were not too long ago the cook in that little diner down the hill, yes?" "Yes sir, I basically ran that diner. I tended to the costumers and I did the cooking." "I must compliment you then. I visited that diner a couple of times over the last few months and I have to say the food you cook is nothing short of magical. There for I would like to offer you a position as Master Cook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where I am Headmaster. This would take care of your lack of a job and housing." Again I looked at him, absolutely flabbergasted. "You would do that? You would do that for an absolute stranger who didn't have any knowledge at all about the wizarding world until a few minutes ago?" He smiled reassuringly at me. "It is the least I can do for the granddaughter of one of my dearest friends. It is no trouble at all, besides your cooking is really amazing. Currently we have house elves that do the cooking at Hogwarts, their cooking is wonderful but yours is even better! I assume you would have no problem in working together with them?"

I don't know what came over me that instance; I flew at the man and hugged him close. "Thank you, thank you so much!" When I regained my bearings I let go of the old man and blushed at my actions. "I'm sorry about that." He chuckled again. "Think nothing of it my dear. As for my question?" "Question? Oh! Yes, well I have no idea what house elves are but I have no problem working together with them! As long as they can keep a secret. You see all the cooking I do comes from my grandmother's secret cookbook. Secret family recipes and all that." His eyes sparkled mischievously. "I can promise you that the recipes will remain a secret." I smiled widely at him. "Then I would love to accept your offer sir." "Oh please, call me Albus." I grinned, "Ok Albus. Lead the way!" I jumped up once more. He chuckled once more at my enthusiasm. _I swear this man chuckles a lot! Definitely NOT a muggle. Haha!_

I smoothed out my jacket and picked up my suitcase once more. "If you would take hold of my arm, then I will apparate us to London. Apparition might be a bit uncomfortable the first few times, but you will get used to it eventually." With that he held out his arm for me to take. Now that I was full of excitement and energy I hooked my free arm with his and grabbed a hand full of robes that covered said arm. With a loud crack Albus turned us on the spot and I felt Dumbledore's arm twist away from me and re-doubled my grip: the next thing I knew everything went black; I was pressed very hard from all directions; I couldn't breathe, there were iron bands tightening around my chest; my eyeballs were being forced back into my head; my ear-drums were being pushed deeper into my skull, and before I knew it, it was over.

I opened my eyes, which I had closed during the apparition and took in my new environment. We were standing in front of a tiny old grubby looking rundown pub. If we hadn't landed in front of it I wouldn't have known it was there. The sign above read 'the Leaky Cauldron'. Albus motioned for me to enter first. Inside the pub, it was dark and shabby, with a bar and a number of tables in the shadows of the corners. "In stark contrast to the grubby downstairs of the pub, there are some unexpectedly pleasant rooms upstairs where passing wizards and witches can stay for the night."Albus explained to me. The upstairs rooms were reached by way of a handsome wooden staircase, and contained comfortable beds, highly polished oak furniture, a crackling fire which was always burning in the grate to welcome the visitor to their lodgings, and, in some cases, a talking mirror. Beneath the stairs leading to the second floor, was a second set of stairs leading to the basement. On the right wall where two sitting areas containing red couch and chairs were nestled in each corner on this side. The front wall had a stage with red curtains in front of a lowered viewing area. The back wall was blank, but the left wall had another red sitting area, and a bar. However, the basement, it seems, had been locked off for no apparent reason.

Albus led me over to the bar and greeted the landlord, who was a friendly man with light brown, slightly graying hair. "Hello Tom. Do you have a room where one could have a private conversation?" He gave the landlord a meaning full glance and then winked at me. "It's easier to talk someplace where we won't be easily disturbed," he said to me. Tom motioned for us to follow him and lead us to a backroom where he lit a couple of candles and a small fireplace. At the back of the room stood a dusty antique desk with a matching chair. In front of the fireplace stood two antique comfortable looking chairs and a small coffee table. "Anything else I can get for you Albus?"

"Two butterbeers please Tom and that'll be all." The landlord nodded and left the room only to return a few minutes later with to mugs of steaming substance, I assumed it was the butterbeers Albus had ordered. He put them down on the small coffee table and left the room again.

Albus turned back to me and motioned to the two seats near the fireplace. "Let's have a seat shall we. And do have a taste of that butterbeer, it's rather enjoyable." I sat down and picked up the mug with the warm liquid, it had a very sweet smell to it and when I took a sip from it I fell in love with the drink immediately. "This tastes absolutely wonderful!" I exclaimed to Albus' amusement. He sat down in the chair opposite of me and we spend the next few minutes in comfortable silence drinking our butterbeers.

"Well then, let's get down to business shall we?" Albus said after we had both drained our drinks. "Yes, the sooner I can start learning things the better. I have a few concerns tho. I am only eighteen years old, won't I stand out to much among the staff at your school? How old are the students that will be attending? And I don't know any magic. As a member of the staff shouldn't I be able to know a certain amount of magic, just in case something happens?" Albus Dumbledore didn't look worried at all. "Most of the seventh year are seventeen or eighteen years old. So they would be your age, however, you said that you are already eighteen. When was your birthday if I might ask?" "January twelfth." Albus Smiled. "Ah yes, there for you will turn nineteen just after the Christmas Holidays early in the year and there for you will be older than most of the students. Also, you are off age and there for perfectly able to fulfill a staffing function. I see no problems there at all. But if it makes you feel any better we can buy you some robes that make you look older." He looked at me over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "And I think you ladies have several ways to make yourselves look older by the use of make-up." He winked as he said that sending me in a fit of laughter. "I suppose you are right," I chuckled. He clapped his hands together.

"Well then now that is out of the way. You mentioned your lack of magical knowledge." I nodded. "The new school term doesn't start until the first of September. That gives us plenty of time to teach you a few basic spells. You will also have the full use of the school library at your disposal. You can read up on as many things as you like before term starts and during term you can continue studying." Right then I decided to study as much as I could. I had eighteen years of magical knowledge to catch up on. "Sounds good to me, maybe I could buy some of the schoolbooks to do some 'homeschooling'. I don't want to be embarrassed by not knowing as much as the students. I first have to make some money though." Albus looked at me knowingly. "Ah yes. I have a question for you my dear. Did your parents or your grandfather leave you any items that you would strike as an odd in heritance?" I had to think about that. "Hmm I don't know.. My parents didn't leave me a lot. They left me some money that was transferred to my bank account and some personal items like pictures and some of my mother's jewelry. Other things such as the house were left to my grandfather, who in turn left it to me with everything else he owned. I sold most things like the house and some other things. The more personal items I carry with my in my suitcase, bigger things that I wanted to keep I stored in a storage locker that my family owns in London. But nothing strange…wait, there is one thing.." I knelt down in front of my suitcase and opened a side pocket; I reached in and out of it I pulled a silver key. I showed the key to Albus. "I never figured out where this key fit to." He smiled widely at me. "That Cassandra dear, is the key to your family vault in Gringotts Wizarding Bank. We will head there first thing. You can also transfer your muggle money to wizarding money and store it in your vault in Gringotts, if you wish ofcourse. I can assure you Gringotts is the safest place for safe keepings, except for maybe Hogwarts." I liked that idea. "That sounds like a good idea, I don't like the idea of having my money spread out over multiple banks. Hmm, Albus? You said 'muggle money'. Does that mean that my grandfather didn't make up the word 'muggle'?" He had a hearty laugh at that. "Your grandfather did infact not make up the word 'muggle' A muggle is a non-magical person." "Oooooh so many things make a lot of sense right now." I chuckled and Albus chuckled with me.

I took a great liking to the man. I could see why my grandfather had been friends with him, he was a great guy. We had a very pleasant chat and he explained to me a few things about Hogwarts and the wizarding world and then we decided on a course of action for the afternoon. First we would go visit my vault at the wizarding bank and exchange my muggle money for the wizarding currency. After that, with my pocket filled with money, we would make our way to get myself a wand, no wizard without a wand! And from there we would make our way through Diagon Alley to buy several necessities I would need.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! My love for the Marauders had me start writing this story, many ideas were swirling through my mind and I simply had to do something with it. I hope you will like it as well. I'll remind you, I'm not fastest updater, fantasy can't be pushed. Anyways, Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think =)**

**Cheers,**

**~ Lor**


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two:**

Our first stop that afternoon was the wizarding bank. Gringotts was an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located in the northern side of Diagon Alley. A set of white stairs lead up to a set of burnished bronze doors. The doors were flanked by a little creature in a uniform of scarlet and gold. Albus had told me that there worked goblins at the bank, I assumed this was one of them. They didn't look particularly friendly, though Albus assured me they were very intelligent creatures. The entrance led into a small entrance hall and another set of doors. Engraved on these silver doors were the words:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

As we walked through the silver doors which were also flanked with goblins, we entered a vast marble hall with long counters stretching along its length with around a hundred goblins sitting at them. Among the counters were doors leading off to the vault passageways. We walked up to one of the counters, which was manned by a very stern looking goblin. "Yes?" He looked annoyed as he asked the question. "Miss Wright here wishes to make a transfer and a withdrawal." Albus stated in a cheery voice. The goblin looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze. "Does Miss Wright have her key?" He drawled. I reached into the pocket of my jeans where I had stuffed the small silver key and held it up. "Oh yes its right here." He looked at a scroll of parchment and called over another goblin, whom he gave instructions and whom we followed down one of the many vault passageways. We got into one of the carts and took off at an stomach hurling speed which I would have enjoyed had it been a rollercoaster in one of the few amusement parks I had visited as a kid. Albus seemed to quite enjoy the ride. After a minute or so the cart came to a screeching halt.

"Vault 709. Lamp please," drawled the goblin as he jumped out of the cart. I reached for the lamp in the front of the cart and handed it to the goblin before getting out myself and offering Albus a hand to do the same. "Thank you my dear." He said as he took my hand and got out of the cart. "Key please." I took the lamp from the goblin and handed him my key. He stuck the key in the key hole, turned it and then placed his palm against the door. Then as the door began to open slowly he stepped back. Inside the vault, I couldn't believe my eyes, where mountains of golden, silver and bronze coins, along with several other valuable items. I saw various items engraved with what I recognized as our family crest. I had always known that we had enough money to live a relatively easy life, but I never knew we were actually rich. I realized that my family had lived a very humbled life even with the amounts of money at our disposal. As I looked around I noticed a table in the front corner of the vault. On it lay a silver locket engraved with our family crest and next to it lay a letter and a money pouch. When I got closer to it I picked up the locket and opened it. I was met by a picture of my parents locked in an embrace smiling up at me and waving, now and then my dad would steal a kiss and my mum would blush shyly. The picture made me smile, I closed the locket and hung it around my neck. Then I picked up the letter, I wanted to read it but I didn't want to make everyone wait. I looked over my shoulder and threw a questioning look at Albus. He nodded at me and engaged the young goblin in a conversation. I turned back to the table and opened the letter. I was met by a most elegant cursive script. One that I vaguely recognized as my mothers.

_Beloved Cassandra,_

_By the time you read this letter two things could have happened. One: your came of age and learned about your magical heritage, or Two: both your father and I passed away before we could tell you and left the family vault to you. Come to think of it, in both situations you would have figured out your heritage one way or another. If it is the latter then your father and I want you to know that we are sorry for keeping your heritage from you. We had wanted you to grow up in this magical world we live in, but certain things happened before you were born that made us decide that you would be better off growing up away from all the magic. We love you very much, you must know that. We will be proud of you no matter what, in life and beyond. You always were a bright little girl and you were always magical in the kitchen. Even as a toddler you loved to make edible things. You never really showed magic except in the kitchen. I don't know if you ever noticed this, but every time you where cooking or baking with me magic would flow through you and ingredients and tools would fly around the kitchen and start mixing themselves. You could bake a cake faster than I ever could, yours always tasted better too. Yes my dear, you were born to cook, I knew that by the time you were five._

_Now, the contents of this vault are all yours. Spend it wisely. I will have you know that your father and I and your grandparents before us never boasted about the amount of money we owned. We were very wealthy, but money never mattered much to us. There are more important things in live than money, such as life itself and love. I want you to keep that in mind. Money is not endless; if you don't pay attention to it and don't spend it wisely it will be gone before you know it. As you know we live a humble life and we hope you will do so too. Money doesn't buy you happiness, remember that. We trust you to know your limits and use that wonderful little head of yours that your father and I so lovelingly created. Next to this letter you will find a small money pouch. It is charmed to always stay that size and weight, no matter how much money you put in it, this is also yours. _

_With all our love,_

_Mum and Dad_

My eyes had teared up a little as I read through the letter, my parents never told me because they wanted to protect me, and then they never had the chance to. It wasn't their fault that I hadn't known about my magical heritage. I refolded the letter and put it back in the envelope, which in turn I put in the inside pocket of my jacket. I picked up the pouch and filled it with a big amount of money. Now that I had learned of my heritage I would need to get settled in this magical life and I was almost certain that it was going to cost me a little. After all what I didn't need I always could return to the vault. I took a last look through the vault and decided to return another time to fully look through its contents, for now my job was done here. I walked out of the vault, a filled money pouch in my pocket and a heritage to enrich my life, not only in the economical sense but in the emotional sense as well. I nodded at Albus and the goblin as I closed the vault. "I'm sorry I took so long, I found more than I expected to find." Albus placed a hand on my shoulder like he seemed to do a lot. "That's quite alright my dear. Now let us continue, we have quite some shopping to do I believe, hmm?" Again there was that twinkle in his eyes. "Yes let's go."

When we came back above the ground I squinted my eyes at the sudden light, it had been quite dark down there. After having transferred my muggle money to wizarding coins Albus led me to the South Side of Diagon Alley, where we came to a halt in front of a large glass window of a shop named Ollivanders, 'Makers of fine Wands since 382 B.C.'. "Hmm the place where the magic starts for every eleven year old," mused Albus beside me. I snorted, "Or for an eighteen year old in this case." He chuckled, "Right you are my dear, right you are. Now let's go visit an old friend of mine." With that he pushed open the door of the store and I followed him in.

The front of the store wasn't that big. The walls where stuffed with boxes upon boxes filled with, wands, I figured. There was a small counter, flanked by a staircase on the left side, from where I was standing. Behind the counter and on the first level of the store were more boxes piled up, hundreds of them, probably more. As the bell above the door chimed once more as it closed a man came out of the back of the store. His hair was white and his light green eyes lit up as he saw Albus and I. "Albus my old friend! What a pleasant surprise, what can I do for you?" He asked as he grasped Albus' hand and clasped his shoulder in greeting. Albus motioned at me, "We came to get a wand ofcourse!" Ollivander turned to me now and after a couple of seconds glanced back at Albus. "No, can it really be..?" "Yes my friend, the one and only." It was clear to say I had no idea what the two men were on about. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you Miss Wright. Yes, it seems only yesterday when your parents and your grandfather came to buy their first wands. Your father was a very picky case, took him two hours to find his match!" He whipped out an enchanted measuring tape which started measuring my arm length and my height and several other things that I felt were not relevant, but then again, what did I know?

"Now let's see," He pulled a small rectangular box out of the wall of boxes and for a second I was afraid that it would come down. "Willow, dragon heartstring, 9 ½ inches." He handed me a curvy wand and I looked at it, not sure what I was supposed to do with it. "Well go on, give it a wave." I did as I was told and as I did, everything made of glass shattered to pieces. I ducked and covered my face with my arms. "No, no, no, definitely not!" Ollivander took the wand from my hand and put the box back in its place. I looked up at Albus who smiled reassuringly at me and with a wave of his wand everything that I just shattered fixed itself and it was as if nothing had happened.

When Ollivander returned with another box, he took out a white wand that was decorated with silvery vines. "Perhaps this one. Birch, unicorn hair, 7 ¾ inches. Extremely swishy and perfect for charms. Your mother had one just like it. Go on try it out." Again I gave it a wave, this time the room filled up with flowers which then burst into fire, threatening to burn down the place. "Not good, not good. Absolutely not!" I quickly put the wand down on the counter and took a few steps back. Albus again cleared up the mess I made and we waited patiently for Ollivander to return.

I took a deep breath and let my head hang down, at this rate I would never find a wand. Albus seemed to know what I was thinking and gently squeezed my shoulders. "Do not worry my dear, we will find you a wand." Ollivander came back and gazed at me, he seemed to be contemplating something. "Not like your mother at all you are. Hmm, maybe.." with that he walked to the side of the store and retrieved a dark green box. "Perhaps… yes.. I wonder.." He opened the box and pulled out a most beautiful wand. The handle was dark red in color, at the end of it there was the carving of an owl, its wings wrapped around the handle of the wand decorated by silver linings. The rest of the wand was pure white with a line of gold circling it all the way to the end of the tip. The description that came to mind was 'regal'. I did not know if this was the one for me but I fell in love with it that instance. "Hornbeam, phoenix tail feather, 13 ¼ inches, very loyal and quite bendy. If this wand chooses you, then it will bend to your code of honor and won't be swayed to perform magic that does not honor that code, nor will it perform magic for anyone else but you."

He handed me the wand and I felt a warm tingle run up my arm, I made a swirling motion with the wand and suddenly several wand boxes rose up in the air and stayed afloat. A warm breeze blew through the store and then the boxes landed back into their original spots. "Fascinating. Yes, yes very interesting indeed. This is one of the oldest wands I have in my store. I remember every wand I've ever sold Miss Wright, and it so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather, just one other, it is fascinating that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother was owned by your grandfather! And what makes it even more so is that this was not just an ordinary phoenix feather. No, the tail feather that resides in your wand comes from a silver phoenix. The only one I have ever seen in my life. I happened upon it when I just began my work as a wand maker many, many years ago. I was researching possible wand cores in Antarctica when I came across this bird. Your grandfather would be very proud of you! The wand chooses the wizard Miss Wright, it's not always clear why, but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you, after all your grandfather achieved great things with his wand too." I thanked Ollivander and paid for my wand. As we left the store Albus quietly told me, "That is one of the finest wands I have ever seen. It should be very powerful, as old as it is and with that core. Silver Phoenixes are very rare you see." I looked down at the wand I had just bought, amazed once more. Then I chuckled, "of all the wands I could possibly get. The one that I could possibly do the greatest damage with chooses me. Fantastic!" The both of us burst out laughing. "You will be fine my dear. This wand chose you for a reason and I have the feeling that you are more brilliant than you think you are." He gave me a look that said 'you will see that I am right'.

"So where do you want to go next?" I looked around; there was so much to see! "Uh, how about we just walk from here and see where we end up? There is just so much to see! I can't possibly know what all these stores sell. And I am sure that I need far more that I know, right?" Albus looked at me with a smile. "Very well my dear. A tour through Diagon Alley it is. How about you tell me when you want to enter a store and I will point out the stores with the most useful products?" He held out his arm for me and I hooked mine with his. "Sounds like a plan Albus."

And so my tour through Diagon Alley began. Albus pointed out the building next to Ollivanders, "This is the main office of the wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet." On the other side of Ollivanders was a lavender colored shop devoted to what looked to be magical beauty products for women. There were several shabby looking stores that I had no intention of entering at all. The quality of their products didn't seem to be too great. As we continued on to a colorful building, inside was packed with children from almost every age, I think I even saw several adults browsing the stacks. "Ah yes," Albus said as he followed my gaze. "Gambol & Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Once in a while I find myself in there aswell." I looked at him in amusement. He tapped his temple as he said, "A good laugh once in a while keeps the mind young." I chuckled, "I couldn't agree more."

Across from Gambol and Japes there was a Wizarding book publisher named Whizz Hard Books. Albus informed me that they published a great variety of informative books. Our next stop, "Magical Menagerie, the magical equivalent of a pet store, if you will. Many of the students buy their pets and supplies here, would you like to take a look inside?" I did and we entered the store. Inside it was very cramped and noisy, every inch of wall was covered by cages. There were all kinds of animals, many that would not be considered 'pet material' by muggles. Albus pointed several animals out to me and told me what they were. But the owls got my interest the most. Albus seemed to notice and told me, "If you would like an owl, there is Eeylops Owl Emporium further up the street. They have everything concerning owls and a vaster variety of birds than they have here." I nodded, looked around into several cages and then we left the store.

We passed Gringotts again and I noticed a small dark alley across from the bank. I pointed it out to Albus, "What's down there?" He looked at the alley with distaste and told me in a low voice, "That is Knockturn Alley it is filled with shops devoted to the Dark Arts. Unusual and dangerous people walk around there. It's not a place many people would like to be found. I would advise you to stay clear of it." I took the warning to heart and made a mental note to never go down that alley unless it was highly necessary. Next to the entrance to the dark street I noticed a travel agency called TerrorTours, it sounded a bit dodgy to me, but then again many names I had seen so far were far from ordinary, it was something I came to accept. Next we turned to a cute little shop called Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. "Here we will get you your robes."

A chime announced our arrival. "Be right there!" Came a woman's voice from the back of the store. I looked around there were several racks filled with robes, dresses, suits and coats of a dozen different models and colors. As I was looking around taking in the various pieces of clothing that were displayed all through the store, a squat witch dressed in purple robes came out of the back of the store. "Professor Dumbledore! Come for another set of robes have you?" I turned around as Albus greeted the witch. "Ah, not today Madam Malkin, not for me at least. Miss Wright here will be joining my staff next semester, she will be needing robes." The witch nodded and looked at me with a smile. I fitted several robes, dresses and coats while Madam Malkin and Albus commented on them. After about 40 minutes I left the store with a desert colored cleric coat with a short cape attached that reached till just above the elbow, a caput mortuum colored full length dress with a silver embroidered neck and short sleeves, a black satin trimmed high-neck dress that reach till the knee with charcoal colored leggings and a classy back cloak for every day wear, amazon colored robes with belled sleeves and pointy shoulders, a dark maroon colored high-neck full length dress with a black belt around the waist, a shadow colored hooded winter cloak lined with dark fur, a cordovan colored hooded winter cloak lined with light fur, three pair of ankle boots to go with the several outfits and last a pair of silky midnight blue dress robes that were covered in stars, enchanted to look like a perfect starlit night sky, a gift from Albus.

Next we visited Flourish and Blotts, the book store that was next doors to Madam Malkins. Here I purchased several cookbooks and the full collection of schoolbooks that the students at Hogwarts used. "I would not want to stay behind on the students in magical knowledge. I will be a professor of sorts after all." I explained to Albus after he raised an eye at the stack of books I had in my arms. I added several other books to the stack. Let me tell you, my money pouch was quite the galleon lighter after we left. Albus had taken to shrinking my packages so that they were easier to carry. I stacked up on a bunch of quills, ink vials and parchments from Scribbulus Writing Instruments. And then we went to pick up some sweets and baking goods for me from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop. Albus had quite the sweet tooth I learned! Next door I picked up several items that Albus advised me were quite practical for the learning wizard.

"Now let's get you an owl shall we?" Albus motioned next door as we exited Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. I turned my head in the direction he was pointing and saw a store that had several cages with all kinds of owls out front. I dashed towards the first cage and looked in awe at the bird inside. I heard Albus chuckle behind me and I couldn't help but smile. Owls had always been my favorite animal but I had never actually seen any up close. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up into the shining eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "There are more inside," he said with a smile. We went inside and were met with several hoots. Barn owls, Snowy owls, Eagle owl, big, tiny, black, brown, white, all of them were so different. "Albus! How am I going to pick one!?" He laughed heartily. "Take your time my dear, we are in no hurry." I nodded and made my way through the store as Albus went to have a chat with the owner. I think I stopped in front of every cage to observe the bird in it. At some point I was gazing at one bird in particular when the touch of a hand on my shoulder made me jump. A familiar chuckle met my ears and I turned to glare playfully at Albus, "You scared me to death!" "You looked rather lost in space. Did you find one you like yet?" I looked at him for a second and shrugged, "I'm not sure yet." I turned back to the bird in front of me. "You are quite the handsome bird aren't you?" I whispered to the bird. It looked back at me with its wise amber eyes and then blinked once and then answered with a soft low hoot. The bird was a beauty its body was a mixture of light brown, white, amber and black which created a soft golden look. I looked at the card in front of its cage. It read 'Eurasian Eagle – 30 inches'. I looked back into the birds eyes and slowly stuck my hand partly into the cage as if asking the bird if I can pet him, he lowered its head and then brushed it against my hand. I stroke its feathers for a while and took the birds appearance in. Eagle Owls are very large and powerful birds. Its great size, bulky, barrel-shaped build, ear tufts and its intelligent amber orange eyes makes it a truly distinctive species. Its coloring and posture making it look powerful and regal. I looked at the birds ear tufts and could tell this one in particular was a male owl, the ear tufts of males are more upright than those of females. I bowed my head to the bird in respect. "Would you like to come home with me?" I softly asked the bird. Once again it looked into my eyes, as if determining if I was worthy, it blinked once and then let out an approving deep resonant _Oooh-uh_! I smiled brightly and stroke its feathers one more time before retracting my hand from the cage. "Very well then. What do you say if I named you Zeus?" A singular soft hoot approved and I turned to Albus. "This is the one." Another pair of wise eyes met mine and Albus nodded in approval. "A fine choice if I may say so myself." We picked up several things I needed to care for the bird including some food and then went to pay for the lot. After picking up several items including a cauldron and several herbs and fungi we went for a drink at the Leaky Cauldron and then left Diagon Alley.

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**Thank you for reading! Any names and places you recognise are property of J.K. Rowling, anything else is created by yours truly =).**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review :).**

**Cheers,**

**~ Lor**


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